Digital Commons Network^™

Fuzzy Similarity Analysis Of Effective Training Samples To Improve Machine Learning Estimations Of Water Quality Parameters Using Sentinel-2 Remote Sensing Data, Alireza Taheri Dehkordi, Mohammad Javad Valadan Zoej, Ali Mehran, Mohsen Jafari, Amir Masoud Chegoonian

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Continuous monitoring of water quality parameters (WQPs) is crucial due to the global degradation of water quality, primarily caused by climate change and population growth. Typically, machine learning (ML) models are employed to retrieve WQPs, but they require a large amount of training samples to accurately capture the data relationships. Even with sufficient training data, discrepancies still exist between values of predicted and in-situ WQPs. This study proposes a fuzzy similarity analysis (FSA) technique to enhance ML estimates of WQPs by using the prediction errors in effective training samples. The method was successfully applied to retrieve turbidity (Turb) and specific …

Access To Digital Finance: Equity Crowdfunding Across Countries And Platforms, Saul Estrin, Susanna Khavul, Alexander S. Kritikos, Jonas Löher

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Financing entrepreneurship spurs innovation and economic growth. Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally, yet they remain poorly understood. We model equity crowdfunding in terms of the relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money raised per pitch. We examine heterogeneity in the average amount raised per pitch that is associated with differences across three countries and seven platforms. Using a novel dataset of successful fundraising on the most prominent platforms in the UK, Germany, and the USA, we find the underlying relationship between the number of investors and the amount of money …

[Review Of] Abolition Geography, By Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Jennifer Rycenga

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Memory, Politics, And Literary Imagination In Viet Thanh Nguyen’S The Refugees, Jian Zhu

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

Despite the official conclusion of the Vietnam War, the struggle for remembrance and recollection endures. Within the pages of The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen offers a transnational lens through which to examine the formation and contestation of collective memories between the United States and Vietnam. Despite its military defeat, the United States appropriated anti-communist ideology during the Cold War era to assimilate the refugee community, leveraging a discourse of “freedom and democracy” as a means to reshape historical narratives. In stark contrast, Vietnam commemorated its revolutionary struggle against imperialism through the establishment of museums, statues, and public cemeteries within …

Course Design As Critical Creativity: Intersectional, Regional, And Demographic Approaches To Teaching Asian American Literatures, Thomas X. Sarmiento

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

This essay offers a theoretical and reflective exploration of critically informed acts of creativity expressed in my course design for and teaching of Asian American literatures at a predominantly white, public land-grant, Midwestern university. I argue that teaching is both a creative and critical activity as it generates new ways of knowing and being through an assessment and curation of extant literary texts and scholarly discourses. Given my geographic, scholarly, and personal orientations, my course features intersectional, regional, and ethnically diverse perspectives that aim to queer what “Asian America/n” signifies. I hope my situated pedagogical insights inspire other scholar-teachers to …

University Undergradautes’ Awareness And Utilization Of Electronic Databases In University Libraries In Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, Inemesit Udom Udoh, Nse Emmanuel Akwang Phd, Cln, Chukwuemeka Chukwueke Cln

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated the awareness and utilization of electronic databases by university undergraduates in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It adopted a descriptive survey design with a study population of 1,116 registered undergraduates-users of Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) library and Ritman University Library. 224 undergraduates were selected using the proportionate stratified sampling technique. Observation checklist, structured questionnaire and unstructured interview were used to collect data for the study. 224 copies of the questionnaire were distributed, but 186 copies were completed and retrieved. The data collected were analyzed using frequency count, simple percentage, mean scores and standard deviations, with a criterion …

Should State Land In Southern California Be Allocated To Warehousing Goods Or Housing People? Analyzing Transportation, Climate, And Unintended Consequences Of Supply Chain Solutions, Tianjun Lu, Jian-Yu Ke, Azure Fisher, Mahmoud Salari, Patricia Valladolid, Fynnwin Prager

Mineta Transportation Institute

In response to COVID-19 pandemic supply chain issues, the State of California issued Executive Order (EO) N-19-21 to use state land to increase warehousing capacity. This highlights a land-use paradox between economic and environmental goals: adding warehouse capacity increases climate pollution and traffic congestion around the ports and warehouses, while there is a deficit of affordable housing and high homeless rates in port-adjacent underserved communities. This study aims to inform regional policymakers and community stakeholders about these trade-offs by identifying current and future supply of and demand for warehousing and housing in Southern California through 2040. The study uses statistical …

Cycling Past 50: A Closer Look Into The World Of Older Cyclists, Year 4 Survey, Carol Kachadoorian

Mineta Transportation Institute

This document reports on approximately 5,000 responses to a North American survey of older adults who cycle. The survey, open from August 2021 through March 2022, included questions that captured a person’s cycling over their life course, as well as their current cycling styles, habits, and preferences. Responses reflect the impact of various factors on an older adult’s cycling habits with respect to their ability and agility and their expectation to continue cycling. The survey asked about falls and near misses in the past-year coding fall descriptions into six categories and sorting them by the respondent’s gender and age. The …

Impacts Of Marine Heatwaves On Top Predator Distributions Are Variable But Predictable, Heather Welch, Matthew S. Savoca, Stephanie Brodie, Michael G. Jacox, Barbara A. Muhling, Thomas A. Clay, Megan A. Cimino, Scott R. Benson, Barbara A. Block, Melinda G. Conners, Daniel P. Costa, Fredrick D. Jordan, Andrew W. Leising, Chloe S. Mikles, Daniel M. Palacios, Scott A. Shaffer, Lesley H. Thorne, Jordan T. Watson, Rachel R. Holser

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Marine heatwaves cause widespread environmental, biological, and socio-economic impacts, placing them at the forefront of 21st-century management challenges. However, heatwaves vary in intensity and evolution, and a paucity of information on how this variability impacts marine species limits our ability to proactively manage for these extreme events. Here, we model the effects of four recent heatwaves (2014, 2015, 2019, 2020) in the Northeastern Pacific on the distributions of 14 top predator species of ecological, cultural, and commercial importance. Predicted responses were highly variable across species and heatwaves, ranging from near total loss of habitat to a two-fold increase. Heatwaves rapidly …

A Guide To Navigating Existing And Emerging Sources Of Local Vmt And Travel Data, So-Ra Baek, Dohyung Kim

Mineta Transportation Institute

As the crisis of climate change looms, transportation policy in California continues to emphasize sustainability in land-use and transportation decisions. This report evaluates the implementation of two sustainability-focused policies (Senate Bill 375 and 743) by local governments and the current-state-of-the-practices by metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in assisting them in California. The research focuses on local governments’ access and use of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and transportation data for achieving VMT and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by land-use planning. The research also examines the role of MPOs in providing needed transportation data, training, and technical support to its local members to …

Examining The Externalities Of Highway Capacity Expansions In California: An Analysis Of Land Use And Land Cover (Lulc) Using Remote Sensing Technology, Serena E. Alexander, Bo Yang, Owen Hussey, Derek Hicks

Mineta Transportation Institute

There are over 590,000 bridges dispersed across the roadway network that stretches across the United States alone. Each bridge with a length of 20 feet or greater must be inspected at least once every 24 months, according to the Federal Highway Act (FHWA) of 1968. This research developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based framework for bridge and road inspection using drones with multiple sensors collecting capabilities. It is not sufficient to conduct inspections of bridges and roads using cameras alone, so the research team utilized an infrared (IR) camera along with a high-resolution optical camera. In many instances, the IR camera …

Misconduct On Public Transit: An Exploratory Analysis Using The Comments Formerly Known As Tweets, Egbe Etu Etu, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Imokhai Tenebe, Jordan Larot, Dang Minh Nhu Nguyen

Mineta Transportation Institute

This project developed a simple methodology for using Twitter data to explore public perceptions about misconduct on public transit in California. The methodology allows future researchers to analyze tweets to answer questions such as: How frequent are tweets related to assault, abuse, or other misconduct on public transit? What concerns arise most frequently? What are the types of behaviors discussed? We collected and analyzed data from Twitter posts in California about various types of public transit misconduct from January 2020 to March 2023 to identify the nature and frequency of reported misconduct. Our findings reveal that harassment, uncivil behavior, and …

Information Needs And Sources For Health-Related Information Among Pregnant Women In Tamale Metropolis, Joana Dango, Stephen Okyere

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of the study is to explore the information needs and sources for health-related information among pregnant women in Tamale Metropolis. A Mixed method approach was used to carry out the study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 148 pregnant women from three hospitals namely, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale West Hospital and the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, interviews were conducted with three midwives, one from each hospital and a Gynecologist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The findings of the study revealed that antenatal lessons were the most used sources of health information, and the least were newspapers …

Spartan Daily, October 26, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 29

Role Of Harvard Dataverse Project In Research Data Management Services, Surbhi Arora, Rupak Chakravarty

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Purpose: To simplify working with and sharing research data, researchers want infrastructures that provide the highest level of accessibility, stability, and reliability. The Harvard Dataverse Project (HDP) (https://dataverse.org/) is compiling a growing list of such infrastructures. In this regard, the objective of this paper is to provide an overview through an analysis of the activities of the Dataverse website in managing research data.

Design/ Methodology/ Approach: The study examines the statistics systems and other critical resources concerning upload and use the dataverse/ datasets/ files upto October 2022. This includes the creation of dataverse, category of dataverse, uploaded total datasets, file …

Research Trends On Archivists In Scopus-Indexed Journals, Dwi Ridho Aulianto, Slamet Riyadi, Melinda Sinaga, Euis Komalasari, Dendang Hermansyah, Maya Maulintuti

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This research aims to determine research trends regarding archivists in Scopus-indexed journals. The research method used is bibliometric analysis, with data collection from the Scopus database, carried out on September 8, 2023, using the keyword "Archivist" from 2013 to 2022 and specifically for final publications with journal type. Data is processed and analyzed using Publish or Perish (PoP) and VOSviewer to display visualization results. The research results concluded that the number of publications regarding archivists in the last ten years was 1241 documents. American Archivist became the most dominant publication source by publishing 94 documents. Poole was the most prolific …

A Bike System For All In Silicon Valley: Equity Assessment Of Bike Infrastructure In San José, Ca, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Jochen Albrecht, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

Investing in sustainable, multimodal infrastructure is of increasing importance throughout the United States and worldwide. Cities are increasingly making strategic capital investment decisions about bicycle infrastructure—decisions that need planning efforts that accurately assess the equity aspects of developments, achieve equitable distribution of infrastructures, and draw upon accurate assessment methods. Toward these efforts, this project uses a granular bike network dataset with statistical and geospatial analyses to quantify a bike infrastructure availability score (i.e., bike score) that accounts for the safety and comfort differences in bike path classes in San José, California. San José is the 10th largest U.S. city and …

Magnitude, Trends, And Variability Of The Global Ocean Carbon Sink From 1985 To 2018, Tim Devries, Kana Yamamoto, Rik Wanninkhof, Nicolas Gruber, Judith Hauck, Jens Daniel Müller, Laurent Bopp, Dustin Carroll, Brendan Carter, Thi Tuyet Trang Chau, Scott C. Doney, Marion Gehlen, Lucas Gloege, Luke Gregor, Stephanie Henson, Ji Hyun Kim, Yosuke Iida, Tatiana Ilyina, Peter Landschützer

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This contribution to the RECCAP2 (REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes) assessment analyzes the processes that determine the global ocean carbon sink, and its trends and variability over the period 1985–2018, using a combination of models and observation-based products. The mean sea-air CO2 flux from 1985 to 2018 is −1.6 ± 0.2 PgC yr−1 based on an ensemble of reconstructions of the history of sea surface pCO2 (pCO2 products). Models indicate that the dominant component of this flux is the net oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2, which is estimated at −2.1 ± 0.3 PgC yr−1 by an ensemble of ocean …

Assessing The Size And Growth Of The Us Wetland And Stream Compensatory Mitigation Industry, Todd K. Bendor, Joungwon Kwon, T. William Lester

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Interest has focused on quantifying the size and scope of environmental markets, particularly those that offset ecosystem impacts or restore natural infrastructure to improve habitat or promote clean air and water. In this paper, we focus on the US wetland and stream compensatory mitigation market, asking: what types of firms make up the mitigation “industry”? What are the economic impacts–i.e., the “size”–of the mitigation industry? How has this industry changed over time? We present the results of a national survey of mitigation firms and construct an input-output model of the industry’s economic impacts and employment. We also develop a comparative, …

A Pipeline For The Rapid Collection Of Color Data From Photographs, Yvonne Luong, Ariel Gasca-Herrera, Tracy M. Misiewicz, Benjamin E. Carter

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Premise: There are relatively few studies of flower color at landscape scales that can address the relative importance of competing mechanisms (e.g., biotic: pollinators; abiotic: ultraviolet radiation, drought stress) at landscape scales. Methods: We developed an R shiny pipeline to sample color from images that were automatically downloaded using query results from a search using iNaturalist or the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). The pipeline was used to sample ca. 4800 North American wallflower (Erysimum, Brassicaceae) images from iNaturalist. We tested whether flower color was distributed non-randomly across the landscape and whether spatial patterns were correlated with climate. We also …

Daunting Encounters: La Hague’S Infrastructures Of Secrecy, Agnes Villette

Secrecy and Society

The article explores secrecy, more particularly, nuclear secrecy in relation to two nuclear facilities situated at the tip of the Norman peninsula of La Hague, in France. Both sites - the CSM nuclear waste repository and the close-by refueling plant - were developed at the end of the 1960s in connection with France’s extensive civil and military nuclear program. While institutional archives and access to the sites remain tedious, the article contends that the nuclear secrecy shielding the facilities can be approached by unpacking the numerous accidents that took place at the site. Silenced and subjected to amnesia, spills and …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Secrecy And Technologies, Clare Stevens, Sam Forsythe

Secrecy and Society

Many scholars have treated the inscrutability of technologies, secrecy, and other unknowns as moral and ethical challenges that can be resolved through transparency and openness. This paper, and the special issue it introduces, instead wants to explore how we can understand the productive, strategic but also emancipatory potential of secrecy and ignorance in the development of security and technologies. This paper argues that rather than just being mediums or passive substrates, technologies are making a difference to how secrecy, disclosure, and transparency work. This special issue will show how technologies and time mediate secrecy and disclosure, and vice versa. This …

Multi-Dimensional Surface Water Quality Analyses In The Manawatu River Catchment, New Zealand, Imokhai T. Tenebe, Jason P. Julian, Praise God C. Emenike, Nathaniel Dede-Bamfo, Omeje Maxwell, Samuel E. Sanni, Eunice O. Babatunde, Darlan D. Alves

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) properties give vital information about pollution signatures in rivers, and they help develop best management practices (BMPs) for effective water resource management. This work employs multivariate statistical methods, receptor modeling, connectivity analysis, and univariate trend analysis to investigate pollution sources across spatiotemporal scales in the Manawatu River, New Zealand. A positive matrix factorization (PMF) method was applied to interpret possible contamination sources. A 25-year dataset (1989–2014) comprising 12 water quality variables from three sites was used. Runoff connectivity analyses identified high-producing grassland (HG) as the most dominant pollution class in all sub-catchments. Univariate analyses …

Price Volatility, Human Rights, And Decarbonization Challenges In Global Solar Supply Chains, Dustin Mulvaney, Morgan Bazilian

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Abstract From 2020 through 2022 the solar industry experienced supply chain disruptions that caused price increases and trade restrictions, causing project delays and cancelations. News reports resurfaced allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China, where a significant share of the industry supply chain is concentrated, which raised new policy and ethical dilemmas about materials sourcing for governments and buyers, and revealed a vulnerable supply chain. Fixing the weak links in solar supply chain will require multiple interventions that diversify the geography of manufacturing and lead some countries to re-shore production. Increased attention to sustainability and low carbon manufacturing initiatives …

Research Data Management Practices And Challenges In Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Review, Subaveerapandiyan A

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This comprehensive review article delves into the current landscape of research data management (RDM) practices and challenges faced by academic libraries across various regions. Utilizing a wide range of studies and data collected from different countries, this article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of RDM services, the role of librarians, and the advancements in technology within academic libraries. The review explores the importance of RDM in supporting open science, data sharing, and reproducibility while also shedding light on areas that require further development and improvement.

No Place Like Home? A Dialogical Journey With Shlomo Biderman, Daniel Raveh

Comparative Philosophy

This paper aims to think or rethink the concept of home as the contemporary avatar of the age-old question of self-identity. In dialogue with Shlomo Biderman, a comparative philosopher without borders who feels at home both in Jewish and Indian sources, the author assembles a philosophical jigsaw-puzzle made of different materials from different thinking traditions in attempt to reveal a new picture of home (and self) compatible with the changing world of immigration, relocation, dislocation and displacement, a world of emigrants, refugees and exiles, in which we live. The puzzle pieces include Plato’s cave, Isaiah Berlin’s “inner citadel”, Shmuel Yosef …

Investing In California’S Transportation Future: 2022 Public Opinion On Critical Needs, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study surveyed 3,821 adults living in California about their general travel behaviors and resources, use of ride-hailing, performance ratings for the transportation system and agencies responsible for transportation, transportation system improvement priorities, and preference for how transportation funds are allocated. Key findings include the following: • Californians are multi-modal: Although driving was the most common mode, respondents reported that in the previous 30 days 66% had made a walk trip, 28% had used ridehailing, 25% had used public transit, and 22% had bicycled. • Although many respondents had at least once substituted ride-hailing for transit, walking, or bicycling and …

Influence Of Librarians Attitude Toward Cataloguing And Classification In Academic Libraries, Fajiwe Olabode Thomas, Subair Roselyn E, Enamudu Augustine I, Omonagbe C. O, Ogungbemile A. E

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigated the influence of librarians’ attitude toward cataloguing and classification in academic libraries. Academic library is the heartbeat of a higher institution of learning. Without an academic library, students, researchers, staff might find it very difficult to study and conduct effective and efficient research. All information resources in academic libraries are expected to be catalogued and classified by librarians/cataloguers with standard classification schemes which would bring all the related books together. The attitude of librarians toward cataloguing and classification can be positive or negative. Positive in the essence that they tend to enjoy or like cataloguing and classification, …

Essentials Of Records Organization And Management In Libraries And Information Centres, Oluchi Okeke, Okechukwu S. Ani Bar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Records are vital documents that are so important to the owners. Managing and organizing them are very crucial for ease of access and use. This is because since they function as evidence of transaction, truth and others, they ought to be properly taken care of. This paper discusses records, its organization as well as management, the benefits and challenges of record management. The library and information centres are therefore charged with proper organization and management of the records.

Enhancing Older Adults’ Mobility In Active Living And Tiered Living Communities, Yongping Zhang, Carol Kachadoorian, Wen Cheng, Edward Clay

Mineta Transportation Institute

The U.S. population is aging rapidly. As people get older, they increasingly face issues such as increased susceptibility to injuries and the need to be assisted with many day-to-day activities. Older adults have the opportunity to opt-in to live in an older adult community (OAC) based on their needs and capabilities. This study comprehensively reviews existing governing development regulations and design criteria related to the older adults’ communities, conducts surveys among people involved with some of these communities in California, and recommends improvements to community design for active living and tiered living communities. This study proposes a new scoring system …